Background – The origins of children’s food preferences remain largely unexplored. However, experimental research suggests they are affected by parents’ feeding behaviours. Outside of the laboratory context, in daily life, there is little indication of how parents attempt to influence their children’s food likes and dislikes, and associations between feeding behaviours and children’s food preferences. Furthermore, parents’ use of feeding behaviours may be partly determined by characteristics of the child, especially their food neophobia.
Objective – To explore parents’ use of strategies for influencing their preschool-aged children’s food preferences, and associations with children’s food preferences and food neophobia.
Design – Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three groups of parents: those of (a) children with healthy food preferences (N=20), (b) children with unhealthy food preferences (N=18), and (c) food neophobic children (N=19). Parents were asked to describe how they tried to influence their children’s food preferences in general, as well as a specific time when they attempted to promote liking or disliking of a food. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and entered into a qualitative software package (N6) for thematic analysis and extraction of quotes.
Outcomes – Several themes concerning parents’ feeding behaviours emerged, some of which differed by group. Themes that arose from parents of children with healthy food preferences included use of exposure, repeated exposure, encouragement, parental modelling, manipulating peer influence and involving children in food preparation and selection. Conversely, themes emerging from parents of unhealthy or food neophobic children included forcing, fighting, restricting and controlling, rewarding or bribing and indulging children’s desires. Conclusions – The results support the hypothesis that parents’ feeding behaviours may be a source of variation in children’s food preferences. Parents’ use of feeding behaviours promoting unhealthy food preferences may be partially in response to children’s food neophobia. Education of parents about effective strategies for promoting healthy food preferences in children, and especially food neophobic children, is needed.